


I Will if You Will

by unacaritafeliz



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, There is a lot of crying but also a lot of happiness and FRIENDSHIP, i wanna tag this 'the worst self insert since my immortal' but its probably not that bad, not even dj wifi is safe from my angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 10:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7357411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unacaritafeliz/pseuds/unacaritafeliz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm the reporter of the Ladyblog!" Alya exclaimed. "I'm not afraid of anything."</p><p>Marinette giggled and Alya glared at her best friend. She'd just come out here to have a good time and she was feeling so attacked right now.</p><p>"Well, anything except Nino," Marinette corrected, standing up to leave. "Which is fine by the way, Alya. Unlike you, I don't have a problem with people not confessing to their crushes. I'm just saying stop pushing me like it’s an easy thing to do. I'll tell Adrien when you tell Nino."</p><p>[[Alya thinks confessing to Nino seems like a good idea if it'll make it Marinette confess to Adrien. Alya is wrong.]]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Deal

**Author's Note:**

> The love square is the most tragic thing ever.  
> If you don't think so, you're wrong.
> 
> But DJ Wifi? They can be pretty tragic too.
> 
>  
> 
> Canon divergent; Ladybug never locks Alya and Nino in together during Animan.

Marinette's head hit the table with a thump as Adrien and Nino finally left the room after their last class. She mumbled against her desk and Alya only just managed to catch the words "Adrien" and "so cute" and "going to die" in the stream of desperate words flowing from her friends mouth. Alya laughed. Marinette was a smart, sensible girl, but when it came to Adrien she couldn't help but be completely ridiculous.

"Enough of this, Marinette!" Alya playfully swatted at her friends arm. "Enough agonising over Adrien, already! The time for waiting is over, it's time for action!"

"Alya, I can barely even talk to him," Marinette protested, moving her head to look up at her friend, cheek resting against the wooden table.

"You're getting better!" Alya pointed out. "You didn't stutter once when we went out for lunch yesterday!"

"That still doesn't mean I can just, what?" Marinette said, sitting up. "Ask him out?! Tell him I'm in love with him?! How does someone even say something like that, Alya?"

"It's easy Marinette," Alya said, smiling. "You go up to him say 'Hi, Adrien. Do you want to get dinner with me on Friday?', he says yes, you try not to spontaneously combust and then you call me and we make battle plans for the date. Super Easy!"

"If it's so 'super easy'," started Marinette, punctuating her words with air quotes, "then why don't you ask out Nino?"

Alya choked, the question catching her completely off guard. She could feel her cheeks heat up and her heart beat quicken and she prayed that her skin was dark enough to hide her blush. Nino. It was only a few months ago when she swore that he was nothing more than a brother to her, but her feelings were about him were changing she knew it. But Marinette? She couldn't possibly know, she could only be guessing. Alya fought to regain her composure, ready to refute Marinette's absurd insinuation but from the way Marinette was smirking, eyes shining with friendly mischief, Alya knew she wouldn't be able to talk herself out of this one.

"Gotcha," Marinette said, winking at Alya.

"I... That's..." Alya spluttered, starting to collect her books. She took a deep breath before continuing "I don't like Nino like that, Ma-Marinette, okay? I-I've told you countless times and besides, we were talking about you so don’t change the subject!"

She didn't sound even slightly convincing and she knew it. Marinette knew it too.

"See Alya, it's not that easy to ask a guy out," Marinette continued, packing her bag to leave the classroom. "At least I can admit that I have a crush on Adrien, whereas you're still pretending that you don't think Nino is..."

"Okay stop!" Alya exclaimed, clasping her hand over Marinette's mouth before Marinette could continue that train of thought. "So I might maybe have a tiny small insignificant little possible crush on Nino but whatever, it's no big deal, okay? Besides, I can't ask him out because he probably doesn't like me. Unlike Adrien who would..."

"Alya, Adrien has never even hinted at having feelings for me," Marinette countered. "Nino has literally admitted to liking you. Remember that day at the zoo?"

Of course she remembered the day at the zoo; that's what had got her into this mess in the first place! She hadn’t even considered a romantic relationship with Nino as a possibility before that day! But when she had started thinking about ways she could reject him and remain friends, she had realised that she maybe wouldn’t want to reject him.

But she still hadn’t told him how she felt. He’d stuttered through his declaration in a way that was different to the way Marinette stuttered around Adrien. His stuttering had made him seem insincere, like the statement wasn’t exactly true. There was a possibility it was, but Alya was smart, she didn’t take risks. She wouldn’t lose a good friend like Nino over something like this.

"Come on, Alya," Marinette said, as Alya remained quiet and thoughtful. "You have nothing to lose and you still won't tell him because you're scared."

"I'm the reporter of the Ladyblog!" Alya exclaimed. "I'm not afraid of anything."

Marinette giggled and Alya glared at her best friend. She'd just come out here to have a good time and she was feeling so attacked right now.

"Well, anything except Nino," Marinette corrected, standing up to leave. "Which is fine by the way, Alya. Unlike you, I don't have a problem with people not confessing to their crushes. I'm just saying stop pushing me like it’s an easy thing to do. I'll tell Adrien when you tell Nino."

Marinette started walking down the stairs, head held up triumphantly. Alya rolled her eyes at her friend’s smug look. But then the impact of Marinette’s words finally sunk in. If she told Nino, then Marinette would tell Adrien. If Marinette told Adrien, he would make her best friend so happy. She could make Marientte happy if only she stopped being so scared and told Nino. Surely that was worth the risk of rejection? Besides, he had hinted at liking her. If everything worked out well, she and Marinette could both have nice boyfriends. If everything worked out well, it could be a win-win-win-win. But if everything didn't...

Alya shook the thought out of her mind. This was Marinette’s happiness at stake. She couldn’t afford to doubt herself. And besides she was Alya Cesaire and Alya Cesaire never backed down from a challenge, especially not one from Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Alya grabbed her bag and ran down the stairs to Marinette before she could talk herself out of it.

"Do you think he's gone home yet?" she asked, ignoring the way her heart raced.

Marinette visibly paled. Alya would've smirked if she didn't feel the same way her best friend looked.

"Who?" Marinette asked.

"Nino," Alya continued. "He's probably still outside the school, right?"

"Alya, what are you doing?" Marinette said.

"Showing you how easy it is," Alya said, rushing to get the words out before her brain decided to take it back. "Regardless of what Nino says, regardless of if he wants me or not, if I tell him, you'll tell Adrien, right. That's what you said."

Marinette's mouth opened and she stumbled to find the words. But Alya had to go find Nino.

"Wish me luck,” she said, turning on her heel and moving towards the door. “And go find Adrien. It’s about time you told that boy how you felt.”

"Alya!" Marinette yelled desperately after her.

"Oh and ‘gotcha!’" Alya called, popping her head back into the room before she continued toward the front of the school.

Despite her racing emotions, Alya grinned to herself. She'd beaten Marinette at her own game! Marinette would be forced to tell Adrien, she’d never back down from such a deal. And all she’d have to do was talk to Nino. That couldn’t be so hard, could it? It was Nino. She'd never gotten nervous around Nino in her life. She could do this!

She burst out the front doors and immediately saw him standing there, headphones around his neck and phone in his hand. His eyes snapped over to meet hers and she suddenly felt her breath catch in her throat as her body involuntarily stopped moving.

Oh.

All she had to do was talk to Nino.

All she had to do was tell one of her best friends she had an embarrassingly big crush on him.

All she had to do was give him the power to reject her, give him a way to change everything about their relationship.

She couldn't do this.


	2. The Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ""D-do you..." Alya started breathlessly, eyes trained on him. She shook her head and took a deep breath before continuing. "Uh, do you remember that day you were in the zoo with Marinette?"
> 
> Alya internally chastised herself for her poor attempt at talking about her own feelings. She was deflecting and she knew it; trying to make Nino confess rather than tell him her own feelings. She was ashamed of being so scared to go after what she wanted."
> 
> [Alya tries to confess to Nino. It's definitely harder than she thought it would be].

Alya's brain was telling her to move but her body stood rigid and still, eyes frozen on the boy in front of her. Nino raised an arm to wave at her, his face lit up in a smile, and her right arm felt like lead as she slowly raised it to reply to his gesture. She'd never been one to consider the worst-case scenario, but suddenly all her mind could conjure were images of everything that could go wrong; Nino laughing at her, Nino being embarrassed of her, Nino not knowing how to talk to her anymore, Nino not wanting to talk to her anymore... 

"A-Alya?" Marinette said, softly, appearing at her friend’s side. "I didn't mean... you don't have to do this. I'll find a way to tell Adrien when I'm ready, even if you don't tell Nino. I don't want to pressure you into it if you're not ready."

"But would you if I did?" Alya said, tearing her eyes off Nino to look at Marinette. "If I told Nino, would you really tell Adrien?"

Marinette bit her lip and Alya suddenly realised that she wanted Marinette to say yes. She wanted to tell Nino, in spite of her fears. She had so many doubts - doubts about his feelings, doubts about whether this was the right thing to do - but she couldn’t find a single doubt about how she felt about him, how much she wanted to be with him. She just needed to find the courage to tell him. She just needed a nudge and she was hoping Marinette would give it to her.

"Yeah, I think I would," said Marinette, finally. "If you were brave enough to do it, I think I could be too."

Alya exhaled. She hadn't even known it were possible to feel so relieved and yet so terrified at the same time.

"Then wish me luck," she said, simply. "I'll call you tonight and tell you how it goes."

"Okay," Marinette said. She reached out and took Alya's hand, squeezing her fingers briefly. "Feel free to stop by the bakery if you need to."

Alya took a deep breath. She couldn't afford to psych herself out again. She wanted this. She wanted him.

"Hey Nino, wait up," Alya said, eyes trained on Marinette's, seeking courage in her friend's gaze.

Marinette's hand left hers and she looked over to Nino who was looking back at her again, one eyebrow raised at her expectantly. She took a deep breath and walked towards him.

"Hey Nino," she called, trying to force every piece of her confidence into her voice. The words still sounded too light and breathless to her ears but if Nino had noticed he hadn't said anything.

"Hey Alya," Nino replied. He smiled brightly at her, doing nothing to soothe her nerves. "What's up?"

"Uh not much," Alya said. "I, uh, I just wanted to talk to you about something, uh, if that's okay?"

"Since when do you ask me for permission to do anything?" Nino said, laughing. He suddenly stopped as he looked at her. "Uh, something wrong, Alya?"

"D-do you..." Alya started breathlessly, eyes trained on him. She shook her head and took a deep breath before continuing. "Uh, do you remember that day you were in the zoo with Marinette?"

Alya internally chastised herself for her poor attempt at talking about her own feelings. She was deflecting and she knew it; trying to make Nino confess rather than tell him her own feelings. She was ashamed of being so scared to go after what she wanted.

Nino's face visibly fell at her words and Alya swore her heart stopped.

"She told you what I said, didn't she?" he asked, surveying her carefully.

"Uh, kind of," Alya lied, figuring that was better than admitting that she was hiding in the background wearing an earpiece

"Shit, Alya, I'm sorry," Nino said, quickly. "I was hoping you wouldn't find out. I didn't mean to make things awkward between us."

"Nino," Alya started.

"I didn't even mean to say it," Nino admitted, scratching the back of his neck. He was no longer looking at her, more interested in his shoes than her face. "I was actually trying to tell Marinette I liked her."

Oh.

"Actually, that's the whole reason we were even at the zoo," Nino said, gesturing wildly. "Adrien was trying to get me to confess to her. We had earpieces and everything."

Oh.

"But I got all freaked out and ended up saying your name instead," Nino continued, still refusing to meet her eye. "Just because I was too scared to tell Marinette how I felt about her."

Oh.

It seemed like Alya still wasn't the kind of person who considered the worst case scenario, because she certainly didn't consider this as a possibility. Everything about this situation was so unfair. It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

"Oh," she breathed.

"Yeah," Nino said. His eyes slowly travelled back to her face. "So don't worry, you, uh, don't have to turn me down or anything."

The irony was not lost on Alya.

"Oh," she said. She gave him a weak chuckle. "That's a relief."

"Alya, are you okay?" Nino asked.

"I’m fine!" Alya snapped suddenly, glaring off to the side. Her eyes slowly moved back to Nino’s face. He looked like she'd slapped him. She softened. "I'm fine, Nino. I'm just... I'm just glad you were honest with me. Things could've gotten awkward otherwise."

"Yeah," Nino said, biting his lip. "And I don't want things to be awkward between us, Alya."

"Yeah, me too," Alya breathed.

The silence that enveloped them was the most awkward thing Alya had ever experienced. It was probably more awkward than all of Marinette’s interactions with Adrien combined. She hated it. She hadn't wanted this; she hadn't wanted Nino to be in love with her best friend and she hadn't wanted things to get awkward between them because of her feelings. Her hands curled into fists, so tight it was almost painful. This was so unfair.

She wanted to break the silence, but she didn’t know what to ask him. The logical part of her brain urged her to ask if he still had feelings for Marinette, but she couldn’t get the words out of her body. She didn’t really want to have to hear him talk about how much he wanted someone else.

"Did Adrien really want you to date Marinette?" she asked. It was the least painful question she could ask.

"Yeah," Nino admitted, looking a bit confused at her line of questioning. "He was quite pushy about it, actually."

"Oh okay," Alya replied. Suddenly she wanted to tell him about Marinette and Adrien, wanted him to know that the one he loved didn’t love him either. She forced the words back. It wasn’t her secret to tell, and it would hurt him. Alya had never thought of herself as a perfect person, but she’d never been vindictive or cruel before. She wouldn’t do it. 

"Why do you ask?" Nino continued, a playful smile beginning to tug at his lips. "Don't think I'm good enough for your best friend, Cesaire?"

She actually laughed at that, a single chuckle that almost sounded more like a sob.

"No, of course you are." she said quietly, hugging her arms tightly around her body. "Of course you're good enough, Nino."

From the way he was looking at her, eyebrows furrowed and mouth opened, she had probably said too much.

"Alya..." he started, voice suddenly soft. 

It was like something inside her broke at his tone. She couldn’t stand there any longer. She couldn’t do this any longer. She felt tears beginning to sting at her eyes and she quickly snapped her gaze to the ground, hoping he hadn’t noticed.

"I should go," she said, hoping her voice sounded steadier than she felt. "I’ll see you later, Nino."

She barely heard his farewell as she sharply turned on her heel and all but ran away from him. She didn’t even know where she was heading; she just knew she had to be anywhere but here. As soon as she found a secluded enough spot she stopped, sinking to the ground and burying her face in her hands as choked sobs finally left her body.

God this had been such a bad idea.


	3. The Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How am I even going to look at him now?" Alya asked.
> 
> "The same way you always do," Marinette replied, placing her hands on her hips. "With confidence! Because you are Alya Cesaire, owner of the Ladyblog, and the coolest girl in Paris, and because you are worth more than one boy who was too silly to see how wonderful you are."
> 
> [After receiving bad news about their crushes, Alya and Marinette find comfort in their friendship.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to the victims of the Nice Terror Attack of July 2016 and to their loved ones. I hope they find peace.

Alya took a deep breath before knocking on the side-door of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. She wasn't even sure what she was doing or what she would say; she just knew it wasn't a smart idea to be alone any longer. All of her emotions, all the pain and suffering and jealousy, were leading her straight towards being akumatised, and she couldn't have that. She couldn't wind up attacking Nino or Marinette because of this. They didn't deserve that. This wasn't their fault.

Sabine Cheng swung the door open with a smile that quickly faded as her eyes swept over Alya. Before Alya could say anything, Sabine had pulled her into her arms. Alya let out a single choked sob as she wrapped her arms back around her best friend's mother, trying to soak up every last bit of warmth she had to offer.

"Marinette's in her room," Sabine said as she pulled back. She rubbed her thumb over the space underneath Alya's eyes, and Alya belatedly realised her face was probably stained with tears. "You can stay as long as you'd like to, Alya."

"Thank you," Alya said, giving the woman a watery smile before turning to walk up the stairs. She entered Marinette's room. Marinette was sitting at her computer and she swung round immediately as Alya entered the room, concerned written on her face.

"Alya?" Marinette questioned. "What happened?"

Alya couldn't bring herself to say anything. She just bit her lip and try to blink back the tears that were forming in her eyes again. This was so unfair.

"Oh, ma cherie," Marinette said, quickly running up and wrapping her arms around Alya. Alya melted into Marinette's arms, burying her face in her friend. "Alya, I'm so sorry."

"He's in love with you," Alya choked through her tears.

Marinette pulled back, eyes wide, hands clutching at Alya's arms.

"What?" she whispered.

"Nino," Alya clarified, her voice breaking as she said his name. "He's in love with you. That day, in the zoo, he was trying to confess to you, but he was scared and he said my name but it wasn’t true. He never liked me. He only wanted you."

"Alya…" Marinette said, letting go of her. Alya noticed tears in Marinette's eyes and felt a rush of affection towards her best friend for being sad on her behalf. "Alya, I'm... I'm so sorry. I..."

"It's not your fault," Alya said. When Marinette didn't look at her she reached out a hand to touch Marinette's chin, tilting her head to meet her eye. "Hey, this isn't your fault. You wouldn't have ever wanted this."

"I'm still sorry," Marinette replied. "You deserve so much better than this."

Alya's closed her eyes as she exhaled, trying to drain the tension from her body. They all deserved better than this.

"How am I even going to look at him now?" Alya asked.

"The same way you always do," Marinette replied, placing her hands on her hips. "With confidence! Because you are Alya Cesaire, owner of the Ladyblog, and the coolest girl in Paris, and because you are worth more than one boy who was too silly to see how wonderful you are."

Alya smiled.

"Thanks, Marinette," she said.

Marinette smiled at her, using her fingers to brush away the tears under Alya's eyes, the same way Sabine had done. Marinette threw an arm around Alya's shoulders.

"I'm proud of you, Alya," Marinette said, softly. "It was a risk to start talking to Nino about your feelings but you were brave enough to do it anyway. And I will tell Adrien. I know that you only told Nino so that I would."

Alya's smiled immediately disappeared from her face as her heart froze. She couldn’t just let Marinette confess to the love of her life without telling her everything she knew, but she also couldn’t bring herself to tell her everything that she knew.

"Alya, what is it?" Marinette asked.

She almost wished Marinette couldn't read her like a book.

"Mari, I..." Alya started. She didn't even know how to begin.

"Alya, tell me," Marinette said, voice soft and commanding.

"That day... in the zoo," Alya started, slowly. "Remember how we had earpieces?"

"Yeah?" Marinette replied, confused.

Alya took a deep breath and steadied herself. She was about to break Marinette's heart. She'd have given anything for Nino not to have told her about Adrien. She’d have given anything not to have to do what she was just about to do.

"They did too," She admitted. "A-Adrien, he... He was trying to get Nino to confess to you."

"Oh," Marinette said.

"Marinette..." Alya started.

"So the guy of my dreams wants me to date his best friend," Marinette said, sitting down on her chaise. "That's cool."

"Mari, I'm so sorry," Alya said. "You must think I'm awful for telling you that. I mean just because I can't have Nino doesn't mean I have to..."

"Alya, stop," Marinette interrupted. "I'm glad you told me. I'm glad I heard it from you, rather than having to hear it from Adri-"

Marinette broke off with a sob and buried her face in her hands. Alya moved quickly, sitting down and wrapping her arms around her best friend and holding her tightly. She couldn't even begin to imagine how Marinette must feel. She'd only just started liking Nino but Adrien had been the only thing on Marinette's mind for months now. This wasn't how things should have ended between Marinette and Adrien. Marinette deserved better than that.

"I can't believe I actually thought I had a chance," Marinette mumbled against Alya's shoulder. "Of course he doesn't like me. Why would he?"

"Girl, Adrien is wrong," Alya said, pulling back from the hug to look her best friend in the eye. "He has no idea what he's missing out on. One day he's going to realise how wonderful you are. And he's going to cringe so hard when he remembers that he didn't do everything in his power to be with you."

"Thanks, Alya," Marinette said, sniffling. "I love you."

Alya couldn't stop her brain from adding 'and Nino loves you'. She brushed it off. It didn't really matter, not when it came to Marinette at least. It didn’t change anything between them.

"And I love you too," Alya said. "I will always love you."

"Best friends forever,” Marinette said with a smile. She stood up from the chaise and stretched herself out. “Now I don't know about you, but I am in serious need of some sugary baked goods. Can you set up Netflix while I go grab some?"

Alya nodded at her friend and got up to start streaming their favourite show on Netflix. A small smile tugged at her lips. It might take some time to get used to the fact that neither of their crushes liked them back but they would always have each other.

They were going to be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Upon finishing this chapter, I actually realised this would be a nice place to end this story? But since a certain cat boy hasn't even shown his face yet, I think I'm obligated to keep going.


	4. The Heartbroken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ""Uh, Chat?" Ladybug asked, dropping down to the rooftop next to them. "Am I interrupting something?"
> 
> And maybe it was because Heartbreaker was still screaming in the streets below or maybe it was because she'd recently gotten her own heart broken but when Alya looked into the eyes of the spotted heroine, she could only see heartbreak shining back at her, as Ladybug focused on the spot Chat’s hand was attached to her shoulder. She briefly wondered whether Ladybug had taken a hit. It'd take some kind of magic for anyone to believe that Chat Noir wasn't completely in love with his partner."
> 
> [Adrien and Chat both try to comfort Alya. It's only a little bit heartbreaking.]

Alya put her books back into her locker with a sigh. School had just ended, and it was the first time all day she'd not been attached to Marinette's hand. The day had been tougher than either of them had expected but at least neither of them had burst into tears upon seeing the boys who broke their hearts.

Alya liked to focus on the small victories.

"Hey, Alya?" asked a tentative voice.

Alya whipped around, head almost smacking into the open locker behind her in her haste. Her eyes widened as she took in the boy in front of her, wondering why he was coming to talk to her.

"Oh, hey, Adrien," she greeted. She hoped she sounded like her usual friendly self, and not like she was severely judging him for not loving her best friend.

"How's it going?" Adrien asked. He leaned on the locker looking more awkward than a model ever had the right to look. His question was definitely more than just a casual enquiry.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Alya said, trying to remember to breathe and not give anything away. "I've, uh, got a lot of homework tonight, so I'll, uh, be busy, I guess. How's it going with you?"

"Yeah, alright," Adrien said, eyes trained on the shoe he was currently scuffing against the ground. "I’ve got lots of homework too."

A silence fell over them. Alya couldn't even bring herself to look at him, her eyes focusing on a poster decorating the other side of the hallway. If this was the way she was acting around Adrien, she couldn't even begin to imagine how awkward it would be if she tried talking to Nino, not to mention how Marinette would be if she tried to interact with Adrien. She wondered if it would always be like this between the four of them now, if she and Marinette had forever ruined the friendship with their feelings.

"You've barely said a word to me or Nino all day," Adrien finally said, breaking the silence. "Marinette won't even look at us."

Alya's eyes snapped over to look at him. He was looking at her through his hair, almost as if he were scared of her answer. She briefly wondered if the boys had talked about this; if Nino was trying to have the same conversation with Marinette somewhere. She shook the thought from her mind. She couldn't get stuck thinking about Nino and Marinette again.

"I don't think that's true," Alya started, voice casually measured.

"Alya," Adrien said with a look that said he wasn't buying it at all.

"Adrien, it's fine, okay?" Alya sighed, placing a hand on her forehead. "We're just..."

Her voice trailed off. What was she even supposed to say? She couldn't exactly admit the truth to him.

"Nino told me he talked to you yesterday," Adrien said, gently. "What did he say to you?"

"Nothing!" Alya said. Her voice was evidently too loud and the word echoed around the now empty school hallway. "I mean, nothing that justifies us not talking to you. Sorry, Adrien."

"Alya, what did he say?" Adrien asked again. He slowly placed a hand on her shoulder. "If he said something to upset you both, then tell me. I want to make it better. Nino does too."

Alya had to hand it to Marinette; she sure knew how to pick them. Adrien was so kind and so sweet, and his green eyes shined with such genuine concern for his two friends, that she almost considered telling him everything.

"Adrien, I..." Alya started. She was distracted by her phone beeping in her hand. Her eyes shot to her lit up screen. "An Akuma!"

"What? Where?" Adrien asked, moving closer to her to look at her phone.

"Eiffel Tower," Alya read off her phone. "Calls himself 'Heartbreaker'. Adrien, I gotta go get this for the Ladyblog! I'll see you later!"

She turned and started running, glad to have an excuse to leave her conversation with Adrien.

"Alya, wait!" she heard him call after her. "You can't just go running head first into an Akuma fight!"

But she could, and she would. She was Alya Cesaire, reporter of the Ladyblog and she never backed down from an Akuma attack. Leaving Adrien behind, she ran towards the Eiffel Tower, paying no mind to the distance she was traveling. Honestly, seeing Ladybug and Chat Noir was exactly the distraction she needed right now.

"I am Heartbreaker," the Akuma called, as Alya trained her phone's camera on him. The fight had clearly been going for a while, Ladybug was already there trying to usher civilians out of the area, so this probably wasn't the first time he'd announced his name and purpose. He was just one of those Akuma. "And if I have to suffer from unrequited love, then so do you."

He turned his staff towards a pair of girls having a picnic near the base of the tower, lips currently locked in a gentle kiss. In a flash of purple light, the girls sprung apart from each other, tears in their eyes.

"Why don't you love me back?" The girls yelled in perfect unison, seemingly unaware of the irony of their simultaneous actions.

The taller girl buried her face in her hands crying, her dark, curly hair falling to shield her face from the world. The shorter one shot to her feet, a dangerous glint in her eye. Alya suddenly realised that the full scope of negative emotions caused by unrequited love was bigger than she realised.

This Akuma attack was too real. Alya noted that, in a slightly different universe, this Akuma could have been her. This person, Heartbreaker, had gone through the same thing she had, he'd just come out of it worse off. Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned her attention back to the Akuma, to find that his staff was already pointed her way, attack at the ready. Before she could move, an arm wrapped tightly around her waist and lifted her off the ground. She saw a flash of light hit the spot where she was standing as soon as she'd left it. The person who had rescued her carried her up above the fight, lowering her gently to a rooftop.

"You should be more careful, Mademoiselle Ladyblogger," Chat Noir said, stepping away from her, with an exaggerated flourish and a wink at her camera. "You don't have any antivirus against an Akuma."

Alya grinned. Ladybug was always happy to wave and smile at her, but it was Chat Noir who really indulged her, always winking and joking to her camera. The computer and Internet puns were a bit much, but they seemed to make Chat happy so she never complained.

"I can handle myself, Chat Noir," she said, placing one hand on her hip.

"I'm sure you can, Mademoiselle," Chat said, leaning against his baton. "But you should be careful anyway."

"It's not like Heartbreaker is dangerous to me anyway," Alya said. "So I'll be fine."

"You don't think unrequited love is dangerous?" Chat asked.

"No, unrequited love is the worst," Alya said. "But, uh, the guy I like doesn't like me back anyway."

"You don't know that," Chat interrupted.

"He made that pretty clear to me the other day," Alya said. "He told me he liked my best friend."

She wasn't sure why she was telling him this; she just knew that Paris' leather-clad hero was surprisingly easy to open up to. Chat's eyes suddenly widened and he reached out one hand and pushed down the hand holding her camera, blocking the Internet out of their conversation. He brought his other hand to rest on her shoulder.

"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding," he said, quietly. "I'm sure he must be crazy about you, Alya."

Alya blinked, her eyes locked onto the superhero's bright green eyes. She'd never heard Chat Noir sound so sincere. She was at a complete loss for words. Chat didn't know Nino, he couldn't know the truth, but there was so much comfort in his words she couldn't help feel a bit better.

"Chat, I, uh..." she started. "Thank you."

"Alya..." Chat started.

"Uh, Chat?" Ladybug asked, dropping down to the rooftop next to them. "Am I interrupting something?"

And maybe it was because Heartbreaker was still screaming in the streets below or maybe it was because she'd recently gotten her own heart broken but when Alya looked into the eyes of the spotted heroine, she could only see heartbreak shining back at her, as Ladybug focused on the spot Chat’s hand was attached to her shoulder. She briefly wondered whether Ladybug had taken a hit. It'd take some kind of magic for anyone to believe that Chat Noir wasn't completely in love with his partner.

"Not at all, Bugaboo," Chat Noir said, removing his hand from Alya's shoulder and looking towards Ladybug. "I’m just reassuring our favourite Ladyblogger that she is amazing."

"Right," said Ladybug. "There's still an Akuma down there though so..."

"Right, we should go," Chat Noir said, stepping towards the end of the rooftop. "Please stay here, Mademoiselle Ladyblogger. Please stay safe."

Ladybug looked at her. A small smile graced her features.

"Please stay safe, Mademoiselle," Ladybug echoed. "And he's right. You are amazing, no matter what happens."

The way Ladybug's gaze turned to her partner did not go unnoticed by Alya.

"Okay," Alya found herself agreeing. “I’ll stay.”

Well, at least she could watch from the rooftop. It would probably take longer to get down than for Ladybug and Chat to wrap it up and she couldn’t see from inside the elevator. Besides, it was nice to think Ladybug and Chat Noir really cared about her that much.

With a nod and a salute, the superhero duo jumped of the roof in tandem to return to the fight below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit of a filler chapter but I hope you got some amusement out of it. It mostly serves as a set up for the next chapter, which I have started writing and am very excited to show you next week. I think you'll like it.


	5. The Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ""I bet 'Mademoiselle Ladyblogger' was pawsome too," Ladybug muttered under her breath. She immediately hated herself for saying it. Alya was 'Mademoiselle Ladyblogger'; Alya, who was still a wonderful friend to Marientte even after everything that had happened with Nino. Alya was awesome, and she deserved better than such sarcastic comments just because Chat had paid attention to her.
> 
> Chat deserved better too. He was one of her best friends; she shouldn't be taking her bitterness out on him."
> 
> [When Chat tries to convince Ladybug not to be jealous of Alya (which she's not, by the way), he accidentally reveals more than he expected to.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I usually don't like random POV shifts in fanfic, but this chapter was too important to leave out or make into a companion fic. So Alya will be back in the next chapter, but for now, enjoy some Marinette.

As soon as the miraculous cure had cleaned the aftermath of Heartbreaker's attack, Ladybug and Chat Noir leapt onto the top of the Arc de Triumph. The two heroes always spent a few minutes together after an Akuma attack, providing their transformations weren't about to expire.

"Bien Joue," Ladybug called softly, tapping fists with her partner. She was honestly exhausted; although Heartbreaker hadn't been that dangerous, he had definitely put up a fight. Seeing Chat on the rooftop with Alya hadn't helped either.

Ladybug knew she was being unfair. Just because Adrien hadn't reciprocated her feelings didn't mean she was allowed to project them onto Chat Noir. And she definitely wasn't allowed to get mad at him for flirting with someone else when she had turned him down so many times.

That didn't stop her from feeling bitter about the whole thing though.

"My Lady, you were PAWsome today," Chat gushed, casually leaning against his baton.

"I bet 'Mademoiselle Ladyblogger' was pawsome too," Ladybug muttered under her breath. She immediately hated herself for saying it. Alya was 'Mademoiselle Ladyblogger'; Alya, who was still a wonderful friend to Marientte even after everything that had happened with Nino. Alya was awesome, and she deserved better than such sarcastic comments just because Chat had paid attention to her.

Chat deserved better too. He was one of her best friends; she shouldn't be taking her bitterness out on him.

"What?" Chat asked.

Ladybug's eyes snapped over to look at him. Shit. She hadn't meant for him to hear that.

"Ah, I mean, uh," she stuttered. Great, now she was even acting around Chat the same way she did around Adrien. That was just what she needed. "Uh, that girl you were with, the Ladyblogger, she, uh..."

"My lady, are you... jealous?" Chat asked, a smirk forming on his lips. He stepped closer to her "I thought red was your colour but, man, do you look so good in green."

"I'm not jealous!" Ladybug yelled, face heating up, taking a step away from him. "Why would I be? You're allowed to flirt with whoever you want to Chat. It's none of my business. I don't care."

She crossed her arms to illustrate her point. She saw Chat's smirk soften into a fond smile at her tone, taking a step back from her to give her some space. His kindness did nothing to stop the blush she could feel spreading over her face.

"Hey, Bug," he said softly. "I promise you, I wasn't flirting with the Ladyblogger. She's, uh, she's actually my friend and she's been having a rough week so I just wanted to make her feel a bit important. She's a lovely girl and I know you'd really like her, but I'm not into her like that, LB. I promise."

Ladybug stared at him, jaw dropped open in surprise. Her brain had stopped functioning properly, evidently. It wasn't properly processing the words Chat was saying. He couldn't possibly have just said what she thought he just said.

"She's your friend?" Ladybug asked, blinking rapidly. There was no way Alya could be friends with Chat Noir, not without Marinette knowing him too.

"Yeah, Alya and I are friends" Chat admitted. "Well, we usually are anyway. I think she's mad at me. She didn't really talk to me today and neither did her best friend. I just don't understand why they're cutting me off. I don't know what I did wrong."

Ladybug vaguely noticed the sadness in Chat's voice, but her mind was caught up with other thoughts. If Chat was friends with Alya and Alya wasn't talking to him then there were only two people he could be. She mentally erased the cat ears from his hair, pulled the mask away his face, and changed his eyes to a normal colour, to a human colour, and...

Oh.

"Sorry, Bug," Chat said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know you don't like to talk about our civilian lives, but it's just so draining, you know? I just miss them and I... I guess I just needed to talk about it with someone."

So, that's why she'd felt so drawn to Chat. That's why she had to work so hard to repress her feelings for him. That's why she had liked him so damn much. She'd fallen for Adrien freaking Agreste twice over and he still didn't love her back.

This was so unfair.

"Uh, Ladybug?" Chat asked.

"You're Adrien Agreste," she said, voice barely above a whisper, eyes trained firmly on the ground. She hadn't really meant to say it aloud, but her brain was still struggling to keep up with the revelation and the words just tumbled from her mouth.

"I, uh..." he started, clearly surprised.

"It wasn't a question, Adrien," Ladybug said, voice stronger, looking up from the ground to meet his eyes. Now that she had said it, there was no use pretending it wasn't true. There was no point pretending that Chat Noir was anyone but the boy that she loved.

He looked at her, head cocked slightly to one side, eyebrows knitted together in concentration. She could almost hear the gears whirring in his brain as he tried to work out how she'd come to her conclusion.

"So, you're friends with Alya too," he replied.

"I, uh...," Ladybug started. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, louder than Adrien had ever made it beat before. He was a smart boy, he was going to work it out. Their partnership would never be the same.

"It wasn't a question," he said. "M... Marinette?"

That was definitely a question.

"Marinette?" Ladybug asked with a mirthless chuckle. "Of course, I'm not Marinette. You love Ladybug, right Adrien? You've never wanted Marinette Dupain Cheng. How could they possibly be the same person?"

She couldn't breathe.

"Who said I didn't want Marinette?" he questioned, taking a step toward her.

"You did!" Ladybug cried. "When you tried to set me up with Nino!'

For some reason, Tikki decided right now would be the best time to release her transformation, right as the tears started to fall from Ladybug's eyes. Marinette fell to the floor, burying her face in her hands; her kwami floating down to nestle in her hair.

"Marinette..." he started, his voice soft. "Shit, wait, Plagg, detransform me!"

Marinette saw the bright green light of his detransformation even through the hands that were covering her eyes. She knew it was Adrien who sat beside her and slowly wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him. As upset as she was, as much as she couldn't stand to look at him, the gesture was still comforting.

"So this is why you couldn't even look at me today, huh, Princess?" Adrien said, softly, thumb starting to rub gently against her upper arms. "Marinette, I'm so sorry. Trying to set you up with Nino... It was the dumbest thing I've ever done."

"And he's done plenty of dumb things," an unfamiliar voice interrupted.

"Shut up, Plagg," Adrien snapped. "My kwami isn't as nice as yours seems to be, Marinette. He never knows when to shut up and leave us alone."

Marinette's curiosity got the better of her and she looked up to see a black kwami with startling green eyes floating near her face. He grinned at her and she answered him with a grimace. Tikki wordlessly flew off Marinette's head and grabbed the kwami, dragging him off to the other side of the rooftop, leaving her alone with Adrien.

"It's okay, Adrien," Marinette said, quietly, after a short pause in the conversation. "You don't have to defend yourself. You're allowed to like Ladybug and not Marinette. I won't get mad at you for it. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you today but I will, I promise. We can still be partners, we can still be friends just please... don't lie to me."

"I would never ever lie to you, Mari," Adrien said softly. "Please just let me explain myself to you, and then you can decide where we go from there."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Marinette slowly nodded her head. How could she ever deny Adrien? How could she ever deny Chat?

"You see," Adrien started, his voice soft. "I was in love with Ladybug, but I was starting to like this beautiful, talented, incredible girl in my class. I was terrified and scared, wondering how I could like two people at the same time. It didn't seem fair to either of them."

Marinette opened her eyes and turned to look at him. His gaze was locked on her and she almost stumbled backwards at the depth of emotion in his eyes. She'd only seen him this expressive one other time, just before Chat had been struck by Dark Cupid's arrow, when he was desperately trying to find the words to tell her... something.

"And then Nino told me he liked you," Adrien continued slowly, carefully choosing his words. "It felt... kind of awful to be honest, but it gave me way out. I thought that if you were dating my best friend then you'd be off limits and I'd have no choice but to get over you and could dedicate all my love to Ladybug."

Adrien stopped to smile, shaking his head. Marinette couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't tear her eyes off of the boy in front of her.

"But it was so silly and naïve," Adrien said. "It wouldn't have ever worked. I would have fallen in love with you even if you were dating Nino, and that wouldn't have worked out well; not for you or for me or for Nino or for Alya..."

Every nerve in her body was on edge. She was so full of emotions she thought she might combust. Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir, he wanted Marinette. She almost couldn't believe it.

"You're in love with me?" she asked, tears pricking at her eyes.

The smile that spread accross Adrien's face was so fond and so genuine that she fell in love with him all over again.

"I think I might be," Adrien said, quietly. "With Marinette and with Ladybug. With both of you, with all of you. And now I know that it's okay, that I'm allowed to love both of you and Marinette, I feel so relieved but I just have to know if you..."

"I think I might be in love with you too, Adrien," Marinette said, a smile blooming on her face as she felt her cheeks heat up. "I think I've been in love with you since the day you gave me your umbrella."

"And, uh, what about Chat?" Adrien started.

"Chat Noir a silly kitty," Marinette said. "But he's my silly kitty. It happened so slowly I didn't even notice it, but looking back, I think I've been in love with Chat for a while now. I just refused to admit it because Chat Noir wasn't Adrien Agreste. But he is Adrien and you are Chat and I..."

Marinette's voice trailed off as she broke off into tears again. She was so happy, so full of emotions, that they just poured out.

"Mari," he breathed, rubbing a thumb under her eyes to wipe away the tears. His hand came to cup the side of her face. "Marinette, can I kiss you?"

She nodded her head.

Adrien brought his other hand up to her face and gently pressed his lips against hers. It was soft and sweet and it set her whole body alight. Kissing Adrien was so much better than she'd ever dreamed it would be, because it was kissing Chat too.

Marinette brought up a hand and buried it in his soft golden hair. Everything was so wonderful and so perfect and she had never been so happy in her life! Everything was working so well for her.

Adrien pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he breathed.

Oh she had an idea. Oh she couldn't wait to tell Alya about it, she'd never believe...

"Adrien, we can't," Marinette said, pulling back.

"What? Why?" Adrien asked, blinking, concern crossing his face. God, he was so adorable.

"I mean, I want to," Marinette rushed to clarify. "God, do I want to. I just.. Alya. She's so sad and I know it would hurt her to see us so happy when she can't feel the same."

"Do you really think Alya wouldn't be happy for you?" Adrien asked. "Marinette, Alya loves you, she'd want you to be happy."

"I know," Marinette defended. "I know she would be happy for me but... it would still hurt her. I don't want to do that to her, Adrien, I can't."

"You know Nino likes her too, right?" Adrien asked. "I don't know why he told her he liked you. I mean, he did, at one point, but he doesn't anymore. Alya's all he's been talking about for months. He likes her so much, Marinette."

Marinette smiled, heart swelling in happiness for her best friend. It was nice not to feel awkward about Nino too. She'd always had faith in Nino's good judgement, it was nice to know that didn't need to change.

"Good, so we won't have to wait long for her to get over her heartbreak then," Marinette said, with a wink.

"So what?" asked Adrien. "We will if they will?"

Marinette smiled. She and Alya seemed to be doing that kind of thing a lot lately.

"We will even if they don't, Chaton." Marinette said, taking his hand in hers and squeezing gently. "I'm not letting you go. I just..."

"I get it, Marinette," Adrien said. "I don't want to hurt Alya either. I just wish Nino would hurry up and fix this. You and I have waited long enough without having to wait for him to get his act together."

Marinette wanted to kiss him again. She settled for reaching out a hand to brush his hair away from his face. There would be plenty of time for kissing later, when her best friend's heart wasn't feeling quite so fragile and lonely.

"Well then tell him to hurry up, Chaton!" Marinette said. She got to her feet. "We should get home. It's getting late and we've still got so much homework to do."

She held out a hand to help him to his feet. He took her hand and she felt her hands burn everywhere his skin touched. She pulled him to his feet. Adrien didn't let go of her hand.

"Right," Adrien said, locking eyes with her. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, My Lady."

Slowly, maintaining eye contact with her, he brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips gently against it. Marinette couldn't stop the flashbacks of all the time Chat had tried to do so and she'd pushed him away. It was such a relief to finally let him do it.

"T-tikki!" she called, as he dropped her hand.

"Plagg!' he called.

"Transform me!"

Even though she knew it was coming, Marinette wasn't prepared for how it would feel to see Adrien transform in front of her, watching the mask cover his eyes and the cat ears spring up on his head, even as she moved to let the red and black suit cover her own skin. As the light of their transformations faded, Ladybug couldn't help but smile at Chat Noir, who she could now freely admit was her partner, her friend, and the boy she loved. She was so lucky to be able to have them both.

"See you tomorrow, Chat," she said, stepping up to the end of rooftop.

"Ladybug, wait!" Chat called. His eyes shifted to the floor, shyly. "I'm, uh, I'm glad it was you, Marinette."

Ladybug waited until he moved his head, bringing his green cat eyes up to meet hers. She smiled at him; the smile only growing brighter when a matching one graced Chat Noir's face.

"And I'm glad it was you," she replied, before throwing out her yoyo and leaping into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "[The Week We Waited](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6622645/chapters/15154219) Part II" anyone? Where Adrinette and DJ WiFi are both waiting for the other to get together to date?
> 
> I'm just kidding. Probably.


	6. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nino nodded, and she turned on her heel and lead the way to the steps. Nino fell into step beside her. He didn't say anything, but her heart was beating so loudly in her chest that she doubted she would've heard him if he had. They sat down, simultaneously too close together and too far apart.
> 
> "You've been avoiding me," Nino said, quietly.
> 
> "No, I ha-" Alya started, she turned to look at him and the words died in her throat. If she wanted him back as a friend, she had to stop lying to him. "I have been avoiding you. I'm sorry, Nino. I've been a bad friend.""
> 
> [Nino and Alya finally talk to each other and the truth come out].

"You're dating Adrien," Alya said, leaning against the lockers next to her best friend.

Marinette, God bless her, slammed her head into the locker in her haste to look up at Alya.

"No, I'm not," Marinette said, rubbing the sore spot on her temple.

Alya set her hands firmly on her hips and stared Marinette down. To her credit, Marinette stared right back. Alya narrowed her eyes, daring Marinette to be the first to speak. Everyone could see something substantial had changed between Marinette and Adrien. They had to be dating, even if they were determined to hide it from their friends.

Alya briefly worried if Marinette was hiding a relationship because she thought that Alya would be sad to see her friend happy when she couldn't be happy too. It was just the kind of self-sacrificing plan Marinette would come up with.

"We're not dating," Marinette said, breaking Alya out of her thoughts. "We talked through some things, and we're in a much better place now than we were yesterday, but we've got a lot more to figure out before we're ready to date."

Alya raised an eyebrow. She suspected there was more to the story than Marinette was letting on, but she didn't feel like getting into an argument about this. She couldn't afford to push Marinette away. She needed her best friend.

"So you just talked to him?" Alya said. "And somehow everything magically worked out?"

"I mean, yeah," Marinette said. "We got trapped together hiding from the Akuma yesterday and we talked about our feelings and what was bothering us. It was great, actually - the talking, not the Akuma. You should try it, Alya."

"Talking to Nino is what got us into this mess!" Alya countered.

"Doesn't mean talking to him won't get you out of it," Marinette replied. "Besides, you never really talked about your feelings."

"Right, because the appropriate reaction to someone telling you they like your best friend is to talk about the feelings you have for them," Alya deadpanned.

"I'm just saying, having everything out in the open is... freeing," Marinette said, hands flying wildly as she gestured. "Maybe if you and Nino are on the same page about this you can work though it... together."

Alya exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was exhausted. This whole situation was getting too hard to deal with. She wished it would just stop.

"You miss him, Alya," Marinette said softly. "And I know he misses you too. You can't just give up one of your best friends because of this. You need to talk to him. You need to fix this."

Marinette's words hit her like a storm. Nino was one of her best friends, and she was giving that up because he didn't like her back? That was unbelievably selfish and wrong. She couldn't do that. She should talk to Nino, she should try to make things okay again. She should...

"Hey, Alya!" called a familiar voice.

Shit. Just because she should do it didn't mean she wanted to do it now right.

"Good luck, Alya" Marinette whispered, giving her hand a soft squeeze before turning to slip quietly away.

Alya glared after her friend. How could Marinette have just left? She needed her! A hand landed softly on her shoulder and she took a deep breath before turning around. She was Alya Cesaire, reporter of the Ladyblog, and she wasn't afraid of anything.

"Hey Nino," Alya said, forcing a smile onto her face. "What's up?"

"I, uh..." Nino started, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "Can we talk, please, Alya?"

"We are talking," Alya replied, instantly regretting the words as they left her mouth.

Nino raised an eyebrow at her.

"Right, sorry, we're being serious," Alya said. "Uh, let's, uh, let's sit on the steps outside?"

Nino nodded, and she turned on her heel and lead the way to the steps. Nino fell into step beside her. He didn't say anything, but her heart was beating so loudly in her chest that she doubted she would've heard him if he had. They sat down, simultaneously too close together and too far apart.

"You've been avoiding me," Nino said, quietly.

"No, I ha-" Alya started, she turned to look at him and the words died in her throat. If she wanted him back as a friend, she had to stop lying to him. "I have been avoiding you. I'm sorry, Nino. I've been a bad friend."

"You're not a bad friend, Alya," Nino said. "You must have had a good reason."

"I really didn't," Alya muttered, looking towards the ground. She pulled her arms around herself, trying to make herself as physically small as possible. She felt so ashamed of letting her feelings get in the way of her friendship.

"You still must have had a reason," Nino said. "I must have done something to make you and Marinette stop speaking to me."

Oh.

So, that's why he was here. He wasn't trying to salvage their friendship, he was trying to salvage Marinette. She really should've expected that. She trained her eyes on the ground and focused on not crying.

"You didn't do anything," Alya said. "I just... overreacted."

"Overreacted to what?" Nino asked.

Alya forced herself to meet his eyes. He was looking right at her, showing more genuine concern and worry toward her than she'd ever thought possible for the carefree DJ could show. Maybe he was trying to salvage their friendship, maybe he did actually care about her.

Marinette had said that having things out in the open would be the best way to move on. She closed her eyes. She was ready to move on.

"I... I got upset because you were in love with Marinette," Alya said. "And I know that's not fair, and that you're allowed to love whoever you want to and that I should support you and want you to be happy and I do want you to be happy, Nino, I just..."

And... she was crying again. She didn't bother reaching up to wipe the tears away; she just tightened her grip on her own arms, trying to distract from the pain.

"I wanted to be the one that made you happy," Alya admitted. "And I thought... I thought maybe I could be. That day in the park... you said that you liked me and I... But you like Marinette, not me. And maybe one day I'll be okay with that, and we can go back to being friends again, but I just can't at the moment, Nino. I'm sorry"

She buried her face in her hands. How had she ever thought talking about this would make anything better? This was only going to make it worse. He'd never look at her the same way again.

"You were trying to tell me you liked me?" Nino asked. "The other day, after school, you were trying to... Alya, I thought you were going to reject me!"

"Why would I reject you?" Alya mumbled against her hands.

"Are you kidding me, Alya?" Nino asked. "Why wouldn't you reject me? You're Alya Cesaire! You're smart, and beautiful and brilliant! You are far better than I deserve. I... Alya, I never dared to hope that you could ever like me back."

Alya turned her head to look at him, taking in the smile that stretched across his face and the way his eyes had lit up. Surely she'd misheard him, surely her imagination was playing tricks on her, surely he hadn't just said what she thought he'd said.

"But, you like Marinette?" Alya said.

"No," Nino said. "I only said that because I was so scared that you were going to reject me and I was going to lose you. But, Alya, I... I think I'm in love with you."

Alya stared at him, her chest rapidly rising and falling as she forced herself to breathe. The words he was saying, they sounded perfect but they felt so wrong. It was like the world had tilted slightly off its axis, like everything was just slightly different from the way it was supposed to be.

"Wait," Alya said. "So were you lying about liking Marinette? And saying my name because you were too scared to tell her?"

"Well no, it wasn't a lie," Nino said. "I did like Marinette, and I did say that I liked you because I was too scared to tell her but that's not how I feel any more, Alya. For a while now, it's been you."

"Really?" Alya asked, frowning. It still didn't feel right.

"Of course!" Nino said, grinning. "This is so perfect! We like each other, and Adrien and Marinette like each other, this is going to be great"

Oh.

"Oh," Alya said. "You know about Marinette and Adrien."

"Everyone knows about Marinette and Adrien," Nino replied, easily slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"Right," Alya said, slowly. "So what, Nino? You found out Marinette didn't like you and moved on to the next best thing?"

Nino's arm fell from her shoulders.

"Alya, no," he said. "It's not like that."

"I won't be your second choice, Nino," Alya said, getting to her feet. "If you love Marinette instead of me, I can deal with that. But, please, don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying to you, Alya," Nino said, springing to his feet and moving to stand in front of her. "I promise, I don't like you because Marinette's taken. I like you because you're you."

Alya couldn't breathe.

"I..." she stared, tears pricking at her eyes. "I don't believe you."

"Alya, please don't..." started Nino.

"I should go, Nino," she said. "Don't follow me."

She ran down the stairs. It seemed like it was becoming a trend from Alya, running away from Nino whilst trying not to cry.

God, this had been such a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)


	7. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ""He's allowed to change his mind, Alya," Marinette said, gently.
> 
> "I know," Alya sighed. "I know he can change his mind, but... but, part of me is always going to feel like he'd rather have you. And I cant be with him when I'm always going to have that worry, Marinette. That's not fair for me or for him or for you... And I just can't.""
> 
> [Alya and Marinette talk about Nino and Adrien. Again.]

"Alya, what the hell?!" Marinette exclaimed when Alya finally picked up her phone.

Alya sighed. Well, she had been ignoring her best friend's phone calls for hours now; she'd let thirteen calls go through to voicemail. She wasn't exactly sure what she had expected Marinette's response to be.

"Sorry, Mari," Alya apologised into the phone. "I just needed some time."

"I told you to talk to him, Alya," Marinette sighed, exasperatedly. "Not to run away from him before he could explain himself."

"Well I... Wait, how do you know what happened?" Alya said. It dawned on her. "You've spoken to Nino."

Alya was sensible enough to know that she had no right to be upset. Marinette was friends with Nino too, she cared about his feelings as well as hers. It didn't mean Marinette was siding with him. Besides, Marinette had tried to talk to her thirteen times. It was really no one's fault but her own if Marinette had spoken to Nino before speaking to her.

She was still slightly bitter about it.

"Nino picked up his phone," Marinette said gently. "You didn't. And besides I wanted to make sure you weren't going to get Akumatised!"

"I'm not going to get Akumatised," Alya said, as she fell dramatically backwards onto her bed, throwing an arm across her eyes. It was true - she really wasn't going to get Akumatised. People got Akumatised when they felt wronged, when they wanted revenge for being treated the way they were. She didn't feel that way. She didn't want revenge on anyone, she didn't want to hurt Nino for hurting her. Mostly, she just kind of wanted to be left alone.

"Yeah, well how was I supposed to know that when you wouldn't pick up your phone?" Marinette asked. "Alya, what happened?"

"You clearly already know what happened," Alya muttered.

"I know Nino's version of what happened," Marinette said. "Not yours. And yours is the one I care about."

Alya exhaled, staring up at the ceiling. She still wasn't even sure the events of the afternoon had actually happened; they felt far too surreal. Nino had actually told her he liked her and she had actually turned him down? How had that even happened?

"Alya, I know it's hard for you to talk about your feelings," Marinette said, softly. "But it's not good to keep your feelings locked away. I'm your best friend. Please, talk to me."

Alya closed her eyes.

"He told me he liked me," Alya said.

"And...?" Marinette's prompted. She was clearly not surprised, so Nino must have told her at least that much of the story. Alya filed that information away, not feeling quite up to dissecting what it meant just yet.

"And I didn't believe him," Alya continued.

"Okay, why didn't you believe him?" Marinette asked. Her tone was soft, gentle, non-accusatory, it wasn't the tone that demanded an answer.

"I don't know," Alya replied. "It just seems a bit convenient, don't you think? Nino likes you, and then suddenly he realizes that you like Adrien and I like him and then he suddenly likes me? It just... seem correlated. Like, he only wants to date me because he can't have you and I'm suddenly an option for him."

"Alya..." Marinette started softly.

"I know," Alya said. "I know you're going to tell me I'm being silly, and maybe I am, but... I honestly feel that way Marinette. I don't know how to not feel that way."

"Alya, don't you remember what you told me when Nino said he liked you at the zoo?" Marinette asked.

She remembered. She thought about it every day. She had told Marinette that she would never date Nino, that she thought of him like a brother and that she could never see him as anything else.

It'd be kind of mortifying if it wasn't so tragic.

"Of course I remember," she sighed.

"Right," said Marinette. "And then, once he was actually an option for you, you changed your mind. That seems pretty convenient too."

Alya could practically see Marinette winking at her. It was a classic Marinette "Gotcha!" moment. But, of course, the thought wasn't new to Alya; she was well aware of her own hypocrisy. Her mind just didn't seem to care.

"He's allowed to change his mind, Alya," Marinette said, gently.

"I know," Alya sighed. "I know he can change his mind, but... but, part of me is always going to feel like he'd rather have you. And I cant be with him when I'm always going to have that worry, Marinette. That's not fair for me or for him or for you... And I just can't."

Alya shut her eyes and clenched the sheets in her fists. She was not going to cry about this again.

"Okay," said Marinette.

"What?" asked Alya. Her eyes popped open and she quickly sat up. Marinette agreed with her?

"I said, 'okay'," Marinette said. "I still think you're wrong, but if you feel that way then your feelings are valid, Alya. I mean, Nino didn't exactly handle this well. He said some things he shouldn't have. But I know you'll both work through this in your own time. I' not going to push you to do it faster than you want to. That's never worked out well for us."

Alya smiled.

"Thanks, Marinette," she said. "You've always got my back."

"Always," Marinette echoed. "Even when you're doing silly things like not dating a boy who adores you."

Marinette's voice was light and teasing, and Alya laughed. Marinette always did know what to say. She really did always come through.

"Isn't that what you're doing with Adrien right now?" Alya asked, her voice mimicking Marinette's teasing tone.

"No!" Marinette exclaimed. Alya could almost see her friend's frantically flailing limbs. "It's different."

"Right, because you don't actually doubt Adrien's feelings," Alya said, quietly. "You're just worried about mine."

She was pretty sure that she'd kept her tone teasing, but she was very curious to hear Marinette's response. She could barely hear Marinette breathing on the other end of the line, confirming her theory. Marinette really was keeping her distance from the boy of her dreams for her best friend.

Marinette was a smart girl but, when it came to Alya, she couldn't help but be a little bit ridiculous.

"Marinette, you do remember why this started right?" Alya asked softly. "The whole reason I even tried to talk to Nino in the first place was in the hopes it would finally get you with Adrien."

"I know but..." Marinette started.

"It's like you said, Nino and I will work our shit out eventually," Alya said. "And one day we're going to move past this, in one way or another. But I don't want you and Adrien to have to wait for that. You both deserve to be so happy. "

"You don't have to do this, you know," Marinette said. "We'll only be happy if you are."

"You being happy will make me happy," Alya replied. "I promise, this is what I want."

"Thanks, Alya," said Marinette. Alya could hear the smile in her best friend's voice. "You're the best."

"I know," said Alya, with a smile. "Hey Marinette, I have to go, but I'll talk you and your boyfriend tomorrow, okay?"

Marinette giggled.

"Okay, Alya," said Marinette. "I love you, okay?"

"I love you too, girl," Alya replied.

She hung up and gently put her phone down on her bedside table. She had a few texts from Adrien she should respond to, but she figured Marinette would at least tell him that she was alive and in no danger of being Akumatised. She still just needed some time alone.

She fixed her eyes on the ceiling. Marinette and Adrien deserved every happiness the world had to offer. Alya was so happy they were together, even if Nino and her weren't. Adrien and Marinette being happy was the most important thing.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to give you guys plot (and possibly resolution?) but then someone commented about how Alya was wrong for not believing Nino and I got personally offended so have this filler instead.


	8. The Gesture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ""What do you mean 'nothing happened'?" Chat yelled. "You almost died!"
> 
> Alya's phone slipped out of her hand as her world slipped out of focus. Chat and Nino were suddenly far away; their faces blurry and their voices muffled. Her brain barely registered Ladybug's fingers circling around her wrist in comfort. Her entire body felt numb.
> 
> He'd almost died."
> 
> [Nino tries a grand gesture, Chat yells at his best friend and Alya (finally) talks about her feelings.]

Alya ran as fast as she could, ignoring the way her legs were protesting every movement. She had stayed behind at school to talk to Ms Bustier and, as a result, was running very late to the latest Akuma attack. She tucked her head down and begged her legs to work faster. She was Alya Cesaire, reporter of the Ladyblog - she needed to be there for the action!

She turned the corner to see Ladybug kneeling down next to a confused looking young man in front of the Eiffel Tower, speaking to him in a hushed voice. Chat Noir was nowhere to be seen. Alya's camera fell uselessly to her side. She was too late. She'd missed the entire fight.

Ladybug helped the man to his feet, and sent him on his way. Alya started walking towards the heroine, thinking that maybe Ladybug would feel sorry that she missed the entire fight and give her an interview.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" yelled a voice, immediately drawing the attention of the two girls. Alya immediately identified the voice as Chat Noir's. She'd never heard the blonde superhero sound so angry.

She turned to look at Ladybug, locking eyes with the heroine. Ladybug nodded at her, worry painting her features. Wordlessly, they sprinted toward Chat.

"I'm sorry!" exclaimed another voice. "But I had to do this, okay? Besides, nothing actually happened..."

Alya recognised that voice too. Her pace quickened; Ladybug matching her stride. They turned the corner and skidded to a halt. Chat Noir had Nino backed up against a wall. Neither of them noticed the arrival of the two girls, both staring the other down intensely.

"What do you mean 'nothing happened'?" Chat yelled. "You almost died!"

Alya's phone slipped out of her hand as her world slipped out of focus. Chat and Nino were suddenly far away; their faces blurry and their voices muffled. Her brain barely registered Ladybug's fingers circling around her wrist in comfort. Her entire body felt numb.

He'd almost died.

"But I didn't!' Nino protested. "Besides Alya wasn't here yet and she needs the footage for the Ladyblog, you know that!"

He'd almost died because of her.

"I don't care about the goddamn Ladyblog!" Chat yelled. "I'm sick of you and Alya getting yourselves into these situations. What good is the Ladyblog if we lose one of you, Ni--?"

"Chat..." Ladybug said softly, interrupting her partner.

Chat and Nino suddenly looked up at the pair of girls watching them. Alya's eyes met Nino's and he quickly ducked his head, the brim of his cap covering his eyes. She looked at Chat, noticing that his eyes were glistening in a way she'd never seen before.

"Look," Chat said, his voice suddenly much softer, his eyes locked on Alya. "I know you two are fans and I appreciate it, really. Just... We couldn't live with losing you. Either of you."

He extended his baton and leapt to the rooftop.

"It really was too close today," Ladybug said, quietly, dropping Alya's wrist. She picked Alya's phone of the ground and returned it before throwing out her yoyo and following her partner.

The two heroes left silence in their wake. Alya just kept staring at Nino, who was still refusing to look at her. She probably deserved that. What she didn't deserve was him putting himself at risk for something as trivial as the Ladyblog.

"I'll email you the footage when I get home," Nino muttered, pushing off the wall with his foot.

She wrapped her fingers around his wrist as he walked past, spinning him around and bringing them face to face. Her heart stopped when she realised how close she had brought him, but she didn't let go of his arm.

"What happened?" She asked. Her voice sounded so small and distant, like it didn't even belong to her.

"Nothing," Nino said, eyes trained on the ground.

"Chat Noir said you almost died," she said. Her voice broke on the last word but, if Nino noticed, he didn't say anything.

"Chat Noir exaggerates," Nino said.

"Nino...?" she asked.

His eyes snapped back to hers.

"The Akuma had a knife," Nino admitted. He tugged the collar of his shirt down to reveal a scar on his collarbone. "Well, several knives actually, kind of an... unlimited supply, but, I mean, Ladybug cured everything so it's really not a big deal, Al--"

Alya cut him off by throwing her arms around him and pulling him in close to her. She buried her face in his shoulder; the tears she hadn't even noticed falling beginning to soak through his t-shirt. She breathed him in, feeling more at home than she had all week. This was what they were meant to be like; not fighting or doubting or scared. They were meant to be together.

And she'd almost lost him.

"God, you're so stupid, Nino" she mumbled against his skin.

He laughed, before he wrapped his arms back around her.

"That's fair," he said.

Her arms tightened around him as she tried to regulate her breathing. She knew she was going to have to be the first to let go, but she couldn't bring herself to put any space between them. She needed to feel that he was real, that he was alive, that he was there.

"Hey," Nino said softly, moving one hand up to gently stroke her hair. "It's okay, Alya. I'm okay."

She pulled back so she could look him in the eyes, stunned to see that he was crying too. She rested her hands on his arms, still unwilling to put any more space between them than was necessary. His hand didn't move from the back of her head.

"What were you thinking?" Alya yelled. She'd meant to sound harsh, but she knew the emotion in her voice betrayed her.

"I couldn't stand you being upset with me," Nino said, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I just thought maybe some new Ladyblog footage could cheer you up."

"And how was that supposed to happen if you died?" she asked.

"Well, I wasn't really planning on dying," he said. "But, I'm sorry, Alya. I wasn't the brightest thing I've ever done. Can you forgive me?"

She felt a smile tug at the corner of her mouth.

"Of course," she said, finally dropping her hands and stepping away from him. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Of course I can, Nino. Thank you. It was sweet. Stupid, but sweet."

"What about for the rest of this week?" he asked quietly. "Could you forgive me for that too?"

She bit her lip and looked away from him. She shook her head.

"There's nothing to forgive, Nino," she said quietly. "I'm the one that was wrong. I should have listened to you and I shouldn't have ever pushed you away. I was a bad friend, on more than one occasion. I'm sorry."

"There are a lot of things I should have done too," he said. "I should have been honest with you about my feelings from the beginning. I shouldn't have been so afraid that you would have rejected me and made it awkward. Even if you hadn't liked me, you wouldn't have been that cruel. You wouldn't have made things...."

"As awkward as this?" Alya finished, bringing her gaze back up to him.

Nino bit his lip, staring at her for a minute.

"I'd do anything to put it back to normal, Alya," Nino said. "I just... You're one of my best friends. I've missed you."

She stared back at him. She'd missed him too. But it didn't seem like an option anymore, going back to how they used to be. Too much had changed; there were too many new variables to consider. They had to move forward one way or another.

She'd said that Adrien and Marinette deserved to be happy, and they did, but maybe she and Nino deserved to be happy too.

"Nino," she started. She trailed off, exhaled, and tried again. "When did you start liking me?"

Nino's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and, for a moment, Alya thought he was going to say he didn't. She forced herself to keep breathing and to not say anything she'd regret later. They were going to fix things this time, not make it worse.

"I don't know when I started," Nino said. "But I know when I realiased that I did. It was when I said your name, that day at the zoo."

Oh.

"I said your name, and it didn't feel like a lie," Nino continued. "And then I just couldn't stop thinking about it, you know? I kept wondering why I said YOUR name and why I felt so calm about it and it just... hit me."

Oh.

"I've always liked you," Nino continued, a small smile on his face. "I've always thought you were smart, and kind, and brave, and beautiful. I had just never realised how much I liked you until then."

Oh.

"It's kind of dumb though, huh?" Nino asked, with a nervous laugh.

"No," Alya admitted. "I was exactly the same. I mean, when I heard you say you liked me, I actually said that I wouldn't ever date you."

"Harsh, Cesaire," Nino said, quietly.

"I'd just never considered you as a romantic interest before," Alya said. "But once I started to I... It's always been you, Nino. I just didn't see it before."

Her heart was banging so loudly in her chest.

"Alya, go out with me," Nino said.

It wasn't phrased as a question, but Alya knew he'd drop it if she asked him too. She knew he was putting all the cards in her hand. She shook her head.

"You deserve better than someone who doubts you feelings, Nino," Alya said. "You deserve..."

"I deserve nothing as good as you," Nino said. "But, we can't worry about what we think we deserve. I want to be with you, Alya. What do you want?"

"You," she said.

She hadn't meant to say it. She didn't even know that she had thought it, but the word tumbled from her lips regardless. But it felt right, and she knew that she'd meant it. Even when she was at the deepest point of her denial, it had always been Nino.

Nino beamed at her, his entire face lighting up, and she felt like maybe it always would be.

"Then I'm in if you're in," he said, slowly taking her hand in his.

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. She could do this.

"I'm in," she breathed.

Quickly, before she could lose her nerve, she reached out and placed a hand around the back of his neck, pulling his face down to meet hers.

Her forehead collided the brim of his cap.

"Ouch," she said, her hand moving to rub her head. Suddenly they were both laughing uncontrollably; Alya burying her face in Nino's vibrating chest as the laughter spilled from them both. She supposed she should be embarrassed but she wasn't; not with Nino.

"Hey," he said softly.

His hand found her jaw and gently tipped her face upwards to look at him. She'd barely had time to register that he'd turned his cap backward before he pressed his lips against hers. Alya wrapped her arms around his neck, taking care not to knock his cap off, and pressed back against him.

The kiss was gentle; sweet and full of promise. It was the kind of kiss that promised more, and the kind of kiss that completely negated all the suffering that preceded it, the kind of kiss that made Alya feel at home.

After a few moments, they pulled back. Nino rested his forehead against hers. Alya kept her eyes closed, almost too scared to open them and break the illusion.

"I love you, Alya," he said. "I'll prove it to you every day if I have to."

"Can you prove it to me in a way that doesn't involve risking your life, Lahiffe?" she whispered.

He kissed her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Yeah," he said, laughing. "I guess I could do that."

"Good," Alya said with a smile. "Because, I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not saying that Adrien and Marinette were hiding on the rooftop and watching this entire exchange, but Adrien and Marinette were definitely hiding on the rooftop and watching this entire exchange.


	9. The Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ""Shut up," Adrien said, his voice was fond. "Besides, it's not like you and Alya aren't disgustingly adorable too. You have to buy new caps all the time because she keeps stealing yours and you don't have the heart to stop her. Don't think I haven't noticed."
> 
> Nino blushed, pulling the brim of his, admittedly new, baseball cap down to block Adrien from his sight. Adrien was right, he had been spending a ridiculous amount of money on hats since he'd started dating Alya. But, to be fair, Alya did look better in them than he did anyway."
> 
> [It's ten years since Adrien and Nino got their girls, and they're both still incredibly and disgustingly in love.]

*Ten Years Later*

Nino paused the game as Adrien's phone rang. Adrien gave him a grateful smile before putting the phone to his ear.

"Hey Mari," he said, a smile blossoming on his face, cheeks tinted the slightest shade of pink.

Nino grinned at his best friend, reaching out a hand to absentmindedly pet the cat kwami on the table. Adrien and Marinette had been together for 10 years and she could still turn him into a blushing, smiling mess with a simple action like a phone call.

It was good for Adrien. She was good for Adrien.

"Yes, of course," Adrien said. "I'll see you then. Je t'aime, Marinette."

Nino wondered if he and Alya were ever that cute. They certainly weren't anywhere near as sappy as their best friends, but he liked to think their relationship could put a smile on someone's face too.

"What?" Adrien asked, putting his phone down on the table.

"What?" Nino echoed, feigning ignorance. He returned his attention to the TV screen and restarted the game.

"You're smiling at me like a goof," Adrien replied. "It's a little disconcerting, to be honest, man."

"He's laughing at how whipped you are, Adrien," Plagg interjected, popping a piece of cheese into his mouth.

"Nah," Nino said, fingers thrashing at the buttons on his controller. "I'm smiling because you and Marinette are so goddamn cute."

"Shut up," Adrien said, his voice was fond. "Besides, it's not like you and Alya aren't disgustingly adorable too. You have to buy new caps all the time because she keeps stealing yours and you don't have the heart to stop her. Don't think I haven't noticed."

Nino blushed, pulling the brim of his, admittedly new, baseball cap down to block Adrien from his sight. Adrien was right, he had been spending a ridiculous amount of money on hats since he'd started dating Alya. But, to be fair, Alya did look better in them than he did anyway.

"So, Nino's whipped too," Plagg said. "Doesn't change how whipped you are, kid."

"Do I even need to start on how often you want to see Tikki?" Adrien said. "Pretty sure you're the worst of all of us, Plagg."

Nino chuckled as Plagg groaned and protested. He quickly shook his head to focus as Adrien's character got another hit on his one. He was going to lose the game in a minute if he didn't do something soon.

"Hey, Adrien," Nino said, as casually as he could. "When are you going to ask Marinette to marry you?"

The effect was immediate. Nino actually heard Adrien's controller fall to the floor and finished the game before Adrien could react and pick it up. The words 'Nino wins!' flashed across the screen and Nino grinned as Plagg flew over to high five him.

"Cheater," Adrien pouted. His face was flushed red.

"Nah, it's a serious question," Nino said, lazily turning to look at his best friend. He started a new game. "What are you waiting for?"

"It's hard, Nino," Adrien said, dropping his head backward to rest it on the back of the sofa. "What am I even supposed to say to her?"

"Bro, it's literally so easy," Nino said. "You take her out to dinner, you say "Hey Marinette, will you marry me?", she says yes, you try not to spontaneously combust and you live happily ever after. Super easy."

"Yeah but model-boy over here will probably make a pun out of it and ruin everything," Plagg said.

Nino let his eyes momentarily leave the screen to check on Adrien. Even though Adrien was happily taking a few jobs now, modelling was still a bit of a tense subject to bring up since the situation with Hawkmoth. Satisfied that Adrien was alright, he returned his attention to the screen.

"Hey!" Adrien protested. "Marinette likes my puns."

"Sure she does," Nino and Plagg said simultaneously.

"Besides, if it's so 'super easy'," Adrien said, getting his character to kick Nino's in the head, "Then why don't you ask Alya to marry you?"

Nino choked, and his own controller fell from his grip. He felt his cheeks heat up and his heart beat quicken and he prayed his skin was dark enough to hide his blush. He scowled at the screen as the words 'Adrien wins!' flashed up, not making eye contact with Adrien or Plagg, both of whom he could hear laughing. The conversation had certainly taken an unexpected and unwanted turn. How did Adrien Agreste always manage to get the upper hand in everything?

"Gotcha," Adrien said, smugly. Nino didn't even have to look at his best friend to see the huge grin on his face.

"I... That's..." Nino spluttered, swiping his controller off the ground. "That's completely different, okay, Adrien? Besides we were talking about you and... Oh my god, shut up, Plagg, you traitor!"

Plagg, predictably, did not shut up, but laughed even harder. Nino glared at him; Tikki would have never betrayed him in this way.

"See, Nino, it's not that easy to ask a girl to marry you," Adrien said. "You and Alya have been together just as long as Marinette and I have..."

"Technically, you got together first," Nino pointed out. "And besides, you two are Chat Noir and Ladybug; you two are literally made for each other."

Adrien shot him a look, crossing his arms across his torso.

"Nino Lahiffe," he said seriously. "If you are seriously implying that you and Alya Cesaire were not made for each other then I'm going to kill you. And then Marinette's going to bring you back to life and kill you again. And then Alya..."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Nino muttered. "I just... Alya and I are a separate conversation, bro. We're talking about you and Marinette and how good you are for each other and how much you both deserve to get married and live happily ever after.

The corner of Nino's mouth twitched upward as he thought of how proud Alya would be of his ability to change the topic of the conversation away from something he didn't want to talk about.

"Marinette and I are happy right now even without being married," said Adrien. "Besides, it's more complicated than you seem to think, bro. She's busy with her internship and I'm busy with my studies and we're still recovering from the whole Hawkmoth reveal and the fact Paris doesn't really need us to be Ladybug and Chat Noir anymore and... It's just a lot for us to deal with right now. I'm sure marriage is the last thing that Marinette is thinking about right now."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it's the only thing she's been thinking about since... well since forever, actually," Plagg said.

"See!" Nino exclaimed, pointing at the kwami.

"We just need more time," Adrien sighed. He dragged his hand through his hair, momentarily distracting Nino with how bright and soft his hair looked. "It'll happen, eventually, I'm sure. Just... not right now, okay?"

Adrien did have a point. Nino wasn't even sure why he was being so insistent about this; he knew that marriage wasn't necessary for a happily ever after. But he also knew Adrien and Marinette and he knew this was something they both wanted. And he'd long since learned that life was too short to wait for what you want.

"You're being ridiculous," Nino said.

"So are you!" Adrien exclaimed. "Come on, didn't Alya say that twenty-five was the perfect age for getting married?"

"She said that years ago," Nino protested. "Alya changes her mind multiple times a day; we can't hold her to opinions she voiced years ago, man."

"And yet she's never, in ten years, changed her opinion on you," Adrien pointed out, making Nino's cheeks heat up again. "And I know you've already bought a ring, so what are you waiting for, Nino?"

"I think he's afraid," Plagg taunted, flying close to Nino's face.

"I've DJed at every slightly sleazy yet incredibly popular nightclub in Paris," Nino exclaimed, indignantly. "I'm not afraid of anything."

Nino swatted at the kwami who flew away to land in Adrien's hair, giggling with his chosen. Nino glared at them. He'd just come out here to have a good time and he was feeling so attacked right now.

"Anything except Alya," Adrien corrected, leaning back on the couch. "Which is fine by the way Nino. Unlike you, I don't have a problem with people taking their time to propose to the love of their life. I'm just saying, I'll ask Marinette when you ask Alya."

Adrien lay down properly on the couch, a smug smile on his face and his kwami resting on his forehead. Nino stared at them, Adrien's words echoing in his ears. Maybe he should take Adrien up on his offer. It was about time Adrien proposed to Marinette; they were not only Chat Noir and Ladybug, but they were Adrien and Marinette - they were inevitably going to end up together. It didn't make sense to wait.

And as for Alya... Adrien was right - he had bought a ring for her. He wanted to propose to her but he had just been waiting for the right moment, the moment when he was sure nothing could go wrong. But maybe this was the right moment. He would propose to Alya, Adrien would propose to Marinette, it would be a win-win-win-win.

"Hey, Adrien?" Nino asked, trying to sound casual despite his heart pounding in his ears. "Do you think you could use some of that Agreste influence and get me a table for two at La Coccinelle next Saturday?"

"Why?" Adrien asked, lazily. He shifted his eyes toward Nino, not moving his head so as not to disrupt Plagg.

"It's Alya's favourite restaurant," Nino explained. "And I've got an important question to ask her."

Adrien bolted upright so fast that Plagg went flying across the room. Adrien's face was even paler than usual. Nino would have laughed if he didn't feel how his best friend looked.

"Nino, what are you planning?" Adrien asked.

"I'm going to show you how easy it is," Nino said, rushing to get the words out before his brain could take them back. "Regardless of what Alya says, if I ask her, then you'll ask Marinette, right? That's what you said."

"Oh, kid, he got you good," Plagg wheezed, tears in his eyes.

Nino smiled and pressed play on his controller to start a new game. Everything would work out well; Adrien would marry Marinette and be happy, and all he had to do was finally get his act together and propose to Alya, his girlfriend of ten years, someone who hadn't ever made him doubt the strenght of her feelings; not once in the entire time they'd been together.

How hard could it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)


End file.
